Nine West or 9 West was established in 1978. Its name based on the corporate address of  Nine West 57th Street, New York City. At the beginning, the house focused on footwear, but now Nine West has expanded into handbags, wallets, sunglasses, jewelry, clothing, hosiery, belts and watches. Today Nine West is a women's fashion retailer/wholesaler with offices in 60 countries. It was co-founded by Jerome 'Jack' Fisher.

Fred Allard, the creative director of Nine West,  may be one of the best-kept secrets in the world of fashion today. Having been the creative force behind Europe's leading luxury powerhouses, Fred now moves to the forefront of American design.

Groomed for the design world since his childhood in the South of France, Fred attended the revered Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture design school in Paris. He went on to take the Parisian design scene by storm, becoming chief designer at Stephane Kélian at age 22. Eight years later, he accepted a post at Nine West Group working under the design tutelage of Nine West co-founder Vince Camuto. Fred credits his initial twelve years at the company for teaching him to 'think globally'. In 2005 he returned to Europe as the front man of design at Castañer, where business grew from 9,000 pairs of shoes a season to 53,000 pairs under his leadership. Now back at Nine West, his career comes full circle and his inspirations on everything from couture to art to architecture continue to elevate the brand.  

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